In The Prince's Bed (25 page)

. Did she really want a lifetime of emotional tumult with Alec? Then again, what choice did she have?Sydneyhad disappeared and might never be coming back. And could she even find another husband to suit her?

She dropped onto her bed, then felt something dig into her bottom.
The Rake’s Rhetorick
. She’d been reading it earlier, during a bout of worry about theStephensHotel. Tugging it out, she opened it to the chapter entitled “The Married Rakehell.” She couldn’t bring herself to read it before, but now one sentence leaped out at her: “If a rake knows he must eventually marry to fulfill his duty, he should hide his pursuit of pleasure from the world. The more discreet the rake, the better his chances of continuing his activities after his nuptials.”

A shudder wracked her. Was Alec trying to be discreet? Lulling her into believing he would be faithful? But then, why choose to court
her
? Why not fix on a less suspicious sort of female? The sound of a carriage halting in front brought her to her feet. He was here after all! He would explain everything, and it would be all right.
If
she could believe his explanations. Grabbing her reticule, she hurried out so quickly that she was halfway down the stairs before she realized she still held
The Rake’s Rhetorick
. As she debated whether to return it to her room, a man appeared at the bottom of the stairs.

Sydney.

She froze. He must have received her note. But why come now? Cramming the chapbook into her reticule, she went warily down to meet him.

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“When you didn’t show up, Lady Purefoy asked me to fetch you and your mother,” he said in a low voice as she approached. “I readily agreed, hoping I could speak with you. If you’ll allow it.”

“Why wouldn’t I? Didn’t you get my note?”

He frowned. “What note?”

“I sent a message to Lord Napier’s estate, asking you to come here. When I paid your mother a visit, she told me that’s where you’d gone.”

He flushed a deep scarlet, then glanced away. “Yes, I needed to think. And Ju—… Napier… said I could do so at his house.” His gaze swung back to her, dark and troubled. “But I left yesterday and returned toLondon. Mother didn’t mention your visit, and Napier… well… I left after we argued, so I suppose he was too petty to send your note on.”

Mama burst into the hall. “I thought I heard—” She stopped short, confusion flooding her face. “Oh, hello, Sir Sydney. What are you doing here?”

Sydneygave his usual gentlemanly bow. “I’ve come to take you to Lady Purefoy’s party. Apparently there was a misunderstanding. She said you’d told her not to send a carriage.”

“We did,” Katherine said tightly. “Lord Iversley promised to takeus, but he’s not here.”

“He was detained at his estate,” Mama said hastily. “I’m sure he’ll be here any moment, however.”

Katherine squared her shoulders, then descended the last few steps. “I’m not waiting to find out. Neither should you, Mama. If Lady Purefoy was kind enough to send someone forus, the least we can do is go.”

In the end, Mama couldn’t stand the possibility of missing her friend’s birthday party, so she allowed Sydneyto take them off.

Katherine hardly knew what to think ofSydney’s strange behavior toward her on the way there. He shot her earnest glances, toyed nervously with his cravat, and in general seemed very disturbed. What did he want to talk to her about? Why had he quarreled with Lord Napier? Could he be reconsidering his rude behavior toward her of late?

And how on earth would she break the news to him about her engagement to Alec? Or should she even do so, when she was so uncertain of Alec herself?

By the time they disembarked at Lady Purefoy’s, Katherine was so agitated that she didn’t know whether to be relieved or alarmed when Lady Purefoy commandeered her mother after they entered, leaving her alone with Sydney.

A waltz was struck, andSydneyheld out his hand. “Will you honor me with this dance, Kit?”

She nodded. Right now she needed the steady comfort of being with Sydney, who’d always been her lifeline in the storm that was her family.

But as they danced, that steady comfort evaded her. Being with him felt… unfamiliar. Awkward. And she’d never felt awkward withSydneyin her life.

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“Have I lost all chance with you then, Kit?”Sydneyasked in a low voice. With a start, she gazed up into his worried face. Had he read her mind, for goodness sake? “What do you mean?”

“I hear Iversley is courting you. And if I were to judge from that kiss you gave him at the reading, you are not… averse to the courtship.”

“Sydney—”

“No, let me say this first. I know you’re unhappy with me, but I can make it up to you. If you’ll consent to marry me, I’ll go to Mother now and tell her. I’ll announce it at this very party, before I even tell her, if that is what you wish.”

She gaped at him. Alec’s little scheme, false as it had been, had worked.Sydneywas actually proposing.

“Why?” she asked. “What has made you suddenly eager to marry, when you haven’t spoken to me for a week?”

“I’ve finally realized what’s good for me. And you’re good for me.”

She arched one eyebrow. “Like eating well and taking exercise?”

“No… that is… you’ll keep me from doing anything foolish or reckless.”

She managed a smile. “You couldn’t do anything foolish or reckless if you tried.”

He swallowed and looked away. “You never know. Temptation lies everywhere.” His gaze swung back to her. “So will you do it? Marry me, I mean?”

She stared at him, temporarily at a loss for words.Sydneywas the same man she’d always known, the same man she’d imagined marrying for years—kind, attentive, a brilliant poet. He was still her friend, with the same handsome, aristocratic features, the same close-shaven chin and artfully arranged curls. But when she tried to imagine him kissing her as passionately as Alec, or making her heart race with a word, she couldn’t. She simply couldn’t.

Still, that was a good thing, wasn’t it? WithSydneyshe would never feel the hollow pain of the past two days, the cruel uncertainty, the fierce desires that came to her unexpectedly in the night. Everything would be courteous and quiet and peaceful.

Sounds boring to me.

Alec’s words pounded in her ears. Cursed arrogant scoundrel—it was so like him to invade her thoughts! Look what he’d done to her. He’d ruinedSydneyfor her. He’d made her as bad as
he
was—eager for excitement and dissatisfied with the quiet life. And a breaker of rules.

Sydneywatched her with pain in his face. “Does your silence mean ‘no’?”

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“You wouldn’t be happy with me now.” As angry as she was at Alec, as confused as he made her feel, she did know thatSydneywasn’t the right man for her.

He tensed. “It’s
him
, isn’t it? He’s turned you against me.”

“Not exactly—”

“Even if you don’t wish to have
me
anymore,”Sydneysaid tightly, “at least choose someone better than Iversley to replace me.”

“He’s not as bad as you think.”

“He didn’t arrive to take you to the party, did he?”

“Mama told you—he was held up at his estate.”

Sydneysnorted. “A likely tale. I doubt he would care enough about his estate to get held up there.”

She thought of the fervor with which Alec had described Edenmore and shook her head. “I think you’re wrong.”

“Why are you defending him?”

She blinked. “I don’t know.”

“He’s off somewhere doing God knows what and breaking his promise, yet you put up with it—”

“Oh, no, I shan’t put up with it, believe me.” There would be no more evasions, no more inconsiderate behavior, or she would send him packing. “But I believe there’s good in him.”

Until she said it, she hadn’t realized it. But it was true. It might be buried rather deep, but there
was
good in him.

“You’re wrong about him, Kit. At best, he’s a prankster who makes fun of bad poets for entertainment.” When she gaped at him,Sydneyadded, “Yes, I noticed all his antics at the reading. It was exactly the sort of thing he did atHarrow. He never takes anything seriously.”

WhereasSydneytook everything so seriously that he couldn’t even make up his mind about marriage.

“At worst,”Sydneycontinued, “he’s a duplicitous defiler of women.”

“And how do you know that about him?”

“Surely you recognize the type—charming, quick-witted, skilled at seduction, and completely without moral fiber.”

“In other words, you know it because you assume it. Not because you have any evidence that he defiles or deceives women.”

Sydneygrew sullen. “He used to flatter the maids atHarrowso he could kiss them.”

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A giggle floated up inside her. She could easily imagine a sixteen-year-old Alec feeling his oats, flirting with some chambermaid so he could steal a kiss. It would be just like him. “If he did, he probably kissed a great many. I doubt few maids could resist Alec’s charm.”

“You’re not listening—”

“Why should I? It would be one thing if you could show me how dastardly he’s been since he’s arrived inEngland, but all this nonsense from his days atHarrow… goodness, every boy does those things.”

“
I
didn’t.”

“I’ll bet your friend Lord Napier did. He seems the sort.”

Sydneygave a strangely harsh laugh. “One thing I can promise you—Napier has never tried to kiss a chambermaid in his life.”

“If you say so. But all boys act foolishly sometimes. You can’t judge a man’s character by the pranks he played as a lad.” Especially a man who’d been estranged from his father and sent abroad in the middle of a war.

A thought suddenly occurred to her. “Tell me something,Sydney—what exactly did Alec do to get sent down from school?” That was one subject Alec had been tight-lipped about. Sydneyfrowned. “His stupid friends had some notion that they could pass themselves off as a royal entourage if Iversley would pretend to be the Prince of Wales. They strolled into an inn they’d never gone to in a neighboring town and demanded an expensive meal. When the innkeeper challenged them, they ran off, but the man reported it toHarrowand picked every one of them out.”

She gaped at him. “That’s it?
That’s
the horrible act that got him banished toPortugal?”

“I don’t know aboutPortugal, but it got him kicked out ofHarrow.”

She laughed. She couldn’t
stop
laughing. Considering all the awful crimes she’d imagined, she’d never guessed it could be something so silly.

Sydneywas scowling. “It’s not funny, you know. There was a terrible furor over it. All the boys got in trouble, and Iversley’s father hauled him off, swearing he would thrash him when he got him home.”

She sobered. His father had done far worse than thrash him, judging from the wistfulness in Alec’s voice whenever he spoke of his mother.

The waltz was ending, soSydneytook her arm to lead her from the floor. “Promise me you won’t make any hasty decisions about Iversley, Kit.”

She sighed. It was time to tell him that she’d agreed to marry the man. And she didn’t relish his reaction. The voice of Lady Purefoy’s butler suddenly sounded over the crowd, announcing a new arrival. “The Right Honorable The Earl of Iversley.”

She started and turned as the crowd murmured around her.

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And no wonder. The man descending the steps didn’t look like an earl or even a lord. Instead of evening attire, Alec wore a rumpled frock coat of olive green, buckskin trousers, and top boots caked with mud. His raven hair was mussed, and his chin looked as if it hadn’t seen a razor in days. Such an ungentlemanly appearance would have roused comment anywhere, but at a party as elegant as Lady Purefoy’s, it sparked loudly voiced disapproval.

Alec paid it no heed, striding into the ballroom with a dark gaze that warned everyone off. When at last his gaze settled on her, Katherine felt a sudden thrill of fear. Because while no one else in the ballroom might realize it, Alec was furious.

And judging from the direction of his glare, his anger was all for her.

Sometimes a rake should simply act

on instinct.

—Anonymous,
A Rake’s Rhetorick

When Alec spotted Katherine on Lovelace’s arm he saw red, and no amount of rational thought could rein in his thundering temper.

Never mind that
he’d
been the one to let the time get away from him while touring his half brother’s fascinating estate. Never mind that she had every right to dance with whomever she pleased. According to Katherine’s manservant, she’d let
Lovelace
bring her and her mother here. She was letting Lovelace squire her about now, as if Alec had never existed… as if she hadn’t agreed to marry him a mere two days ago.

He wouldn’t stand for it.

As he approached, Lovelace stepped between them, surveying Alec with clear contempt. “So you’ve finally dragged yourself out of whatever hole you were wallowing in? You ought to be ashamed, embarrassing Miss Merivale like this.”

Katherine stepped out from behind Lovelace, looking distinctly uncomfortable. “That’s enough, Sydney.”

“Yes, ‘Sydney,’ ” Alec echoed snidely. “Why don’t you stay out of it? This is between me and my
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betrothed.”

“B-Betrothed?” Lovelace stammered.

Alec’s gaze narrowed on Katherine, whose blush confirmed why Lovelace looked confused. Alec’s temper went into full stampede. “Yes. Miss Merivale has agreed to marry me, a little fact she apparently forgot to tell you.”

Katherine glared at him. “I was about to do that, my lord.”

“Aren’t you glad I spared you the trouble?” With a scowl, he held out his arm. “And now, madam, I’d like a word with you.”